YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Zachary Bair, 33, made a deal with the prior administration of the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office to plead to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony in a related murder trial. Under the agreement, Bair’s original charges of Aggravated Murder and Murder were reduced to Involuntary Manslaughter with a Firearm Specification in return for his testimony against co-defendant Akeem Hargrove.
Bair testified during Hargrove’s trial, which concluded in August with Hargrove being found guilty of Aggravated Murder for the 2022 killing of 26-year-old Devin Bell. The specially appointed prosecutor honored the plea agreement, and Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony D’Apolito reviewed and followed the recommendation and agreement. Plea agreements are not personal to who might be the Prosecutor. They are agreements between the State of Ohio and the defendant in a case. Thus, the current prosecutor must adhere to agreements that were made but not yet carried out.
Judge D’Apolito sentenced Bair to 10 to 13.5 years in prison for his role in Bell’s death. Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro would like to thank the special prosecutors and the Youngstown Police Department for their efforts in securing a conviction in this case.
